Skip to main content

Wikis

Wikis are a collaborative tool that allow students to contribute and modify one or more pages of related material, including text, graphics, files, and links. The wiki tool can be shared in a variety of ways between whole and small groups of students.

Wikis in Plain English is a short movie describing what a wiki is and how it can be used in a collaborative process.

Source

Use to collaboratively build knowledge

A primary goal for using a wiki is to build a shared repository of knowledge—a  one-stop area where information is searched, updated, and accessed easily and quickly.

Use according to your instructional needs and goals

You can use wikis as course content or graded assignments, such as:

  • A glossary
  • A white paper
  • Class summaries and outlines.
  • A resources repository
  • Lab experiments
  • Student solutions for scenarios and case studies.
  • Group project presentations

Ideas for using blogs and wikis in your course from Duke Center for Instructional Technology
http://cit.duke.edu/2009/01/blogs-and-wikis-in-your-course/

Pros

Collaborative Learnin

  • Wikis allow course members to contribute and modify one or more pages of course related materials, providing a means of sharing and collaboration. Users can create and edit pages quickly, while tracking changes and additions, allowing for effective collaboration between multiple writers.
  • Wikis can also help build a community of collaboration and learning by increasing social interaction during the exchange of information.

Social Construction of Knowledge

Cons

Needs scaffolding.

  • Similar to discussion boards, effective wikis take time because they need to be effectively scaffolded through clear expectations and monitoring

Wikis are sometimes unorganized or difficult to navigate.

getting started content here and list of online wiki tools

Examples of how instructors use wikis (scroll down)

Example of Blackboard wiki

Source